Multicolor stamping machine



Dec. 29, 1936. I GOULD r AL 2,06 5690 MULTICOLOR STAMPING MACHINE Filed Jan. 30, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 1- l N VENTO R S HERMAN aouz o FBR4NK ACKERMA/V ATTO KEY Dec. 29, 1936. H, G D H M 2,065,690

MULTICOLOR STAMPING MACHINE- Fild Jan. 50;"1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS v HERMAN 60010 FNK ACKERMAN ATTOZNEY Patented Dec. 29, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Herman Gould, Brooklyn, and Frank Ackerman, New York, N. Y.

Application January 30, 1936, Serial No. 61,520

11 Claims.

Our present invention relates to a hot stamping device and aims to provide certain improvements therein. More particularly it relates to a device of the type specified which is intended for stamping, imprinting or embossing plain, colored, lustrous or metallic foil letters, monograms, designs, insignia, etc., in various color combinations upon articles of stationery such as writing paper, announcement cards and the like. It may however be used and is adapted for similarly impressing articles of merchandise made of paper, fibre, leather, textile and analogous materials.

An object of our invention is to provide a relatively simple portable device adapted to perform the various functions specified in the preceding paragraph and one which can be operated by an unskilled person after a few minutes instruction. A further object is to provide a portable hot stamping device having separate dies adapted for multi-color work and one wherein simple adjusting means are provided for effecting accurate registry between the matter to be impressed by the separate dies.

The foregoing and other objects of our invention we accomplish by providing a stamping device comprising a plurality of independently movable dies, a color transfer strip or ribbon for each die, a platen for supporting the work to be impressed by said dies through said ribbons and means for providing relative movement between the dies and the platen for successively presenting the dies in impressing registering relation to the platen. Preferably the dies are carried by a pair of spaced plungers mounted for reciprocation relative to the platen which is movable transversely to the movement of the plungers and the reciprocation of the plungers and the movement of the platen controlled by a single operating means so as to insure successive registry of a part on the platen with each of the dies as they are brought into impressing relation to the platen. The invention will be better understood from the detailed description which follows when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment of our invention and wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a stamping device embodying our invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the platen shown in the preceding figures.

Fig. 4 is a section taken substantially along the plane of the line 44 of Fig. 1, the color ribbon feed mechanisms being omitted.

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are fractional plan views of sheets of stationery showing types of work that the device of our invention is capable of producing.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral Hi 1 by the underface of a platen H5. The upper arm l! of the 'C-shaped frame is formed as a bearing member and has spaced vertical bores 18 and I9 within which are reciprocally movable a pair of plungers 20 and 2| having racks 22 and 23 respectively cut in their outer surfaces. The upper arm I! of the frame is also formed as a bearing having a bore 24 which intersects the bores 8 and I9. In the bore 24 is mounted an operating shaft 25 having a portion thereof 26 which is disposed in intersecting relations to the bores I8 and 19 formed with teeth to provide a pinion for meshing with the racks 22 and 23 of the plungers 20 and 2i respectively.

The plungers 20 and 2i each have mounted thereon at their lower ends socket members 21 which are suitably held and secured against rotation with respect to said plungers by set screws 28. Within the socket members 21 are adjustably mounted die holders or palettes 29 adapted to hold therein one or more dies 29, said die holders being removably held within the socket members by clamping screws 30. The dies are adapted for limited adjustment longitudinally of the die holders by adjusting screws 3|. The socket members 21 are preferably recessed above the die-holding portions thereof and are adapted to accommodate in said recesses removable heating elements 32 for heating the dies. Preferably the heating elements are adapted to be electrically heated and they are accordingly shown as connected to electric cables 33 having a conventional socket plug 34.

Preferably the plungers 20 and 2| are mounted in balanced relation with respect to the pinion 26 on the operating shaft 25 so that when the operatable latch device which may be carried by a cross arm 31 which in turn is mounted on the upper arm H of the frame and extends transversely thereto. The latch device herein shown consists of a leaf spring 36, the free end of which is formed with a detent 38 adapted to engage in a depression or socket 39 in the surface of the shaft 25 when in neutral position. The tension of the spring 36 however can be readily overcome to disengage the detent upon applying to the handle 35 a rotative force in either direction.

Carried by the plunger 2| above the socket member 21 is a collar 40 which carries a laterally extending arm 4| to the free end of which is pivotally connected as at 42, one end of a link 43, the opposite end of which is adjustably and pivotally connected as at 44 within the slotted end of a lever 45 which in turn is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on a shaft 46 upon which is mounted a ratchet wheel 41, the opposite end of the lever 45 having pivotally connected thereto as at 48 a pawl 49 the tooth of which is in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 41. The shaft 46 upon which the ratchet wheel 41 is mounted extends through an upstanding lug 50 at one end of the cross arm 31, and said shaft 46 has also mounted thereon a rubber roller 5|. Also pivotally mounted on the lug 58 is a plate 52 upon which is mounted a roller 53 having a knurled periphery which is spring held in bearing contactwith the periphery of the rubber roller 5| by a spring 54, one end of which is attached to an end of the plate 52 and the other end of which is attached to the lug 58.

The plunger 20 controls a ratchet feed mechanism quite similar to that controlled by the plunger 2|. As illustrated the plunger 26 is encircled by a collar 55 which carries a lateral arm 56 to the free end of which a connecting link 51 is pivotally mounted as at 58. The opposite end of the link 51 engages ratchet means and rollers quite similar in all respects to the ratchet and roller mechanism hereinabove described by the reference characters 44 to 54 and hence are not here described in detail. To hold the plungers 20 and 2| from rotating within their respective bores the arms 4| and 56 which are non-rotatively mounted on the plungers 2| and 28 respectively have upwardly extending guide pins 66 and 6| respectively which extend through lugs 62 and 63 respectively formed integrally with the upper arm H of the frame.

Cross arm 31 at its end opposite to that which supports the ratchet mechanisms is formed with an upstanding bearing 65 which supports a stub shaft 66 upon which are mounted at opposite ends of the bearing 65, a pair of spools 61 and 68 which are each spring pressed against said bearing 65 by springs 69 to impose a frictional resistance on said spools against rotation. The spools 61 and 68 carry color transfer ribbons 18 and 1| respectively which are trained over guide pins 12 and 13 each provided with suitable spacing or guiding elements 14, to underlie the dies 29, the free ends of said ribbons passing over guiding means 15 and 16, thence between the feed rollers 5| and 53. The guide pins 12 and 13 are each formed with an upstanding branch adjustably mounted in a cross arm 13 carried by the upstanding arm of the c-shaped frame In, by thumb screws 13a. The guide pins 12 and 13 are adjustable over the platen to space and strip the color ribbons 10 and 1| from the dies 29 before and after die-impressing operations respectively.

Mounted on the operating shaft 25 is a cam 11 against the cam surface of which engages a follower roller 18 mounted at one end of a lever 19 which is pivoted intermediate its ends as at to a part 80 of the frame, the opposite end of said lever being provided with a roller 8| engaging the rear edge of the platen l6. The cam 11 is so designed that when the operating shaft 25 is rotated from its neutral position toward the operator or front of the device, the cam lever 19 will move the platen |6 forwardly against the tension of a pair of coil springs 82 disposed at either side of the platen at the underside thereof, one end of each spring being secured to the platen and the other end being fastened to the frame of the device. The cam 11 is so designed that the forward movement of the platen will continue as long as the roller 18 rides over a rise on the cam and will cease moving when the roller 18 rides over the circular portion of the cam. In the course of this rotating movement of the shaft 25 the plunger 2| with its die 29 will move downwardly toward the platen. The cam and the mounting of the plunger with respect to the pinion 26 on the shaft 25 are such that the platen will come to rest before the plunger reaches the limit of its downward movement or before the plunger is stopped in such downward movement by engagement with the work on the platen to be impressed. During the course of this move- V ment the plunger 20 will move upwardly and carry the link 51 upwardly with it to operate and rotate the ratchet wheel to draw or feed the color ribbon 1| past the face of the die 29 carried by said plunger. opposite direction by the movement of the operating handle 35 upwardly and rearwardly, the movement of the plungers 2| and 20 will be reversed, i. e., the plunger 20 will descend and the plunger 2| will ascend and the latter in ascending will cause a feeding of the color transfer ribbon 10 through the rollers 5| and 53. During the course of this reverse movement of the shaft 25 the follower roller 18 will ride over the fall of the cam surface and will control the retraction or backward movement of the platen by the springs 82. When the neutral or intermediate position is reached in the reverse movement of the shaft, the detent 38 of the spring 36 will engage in the socket 39 in the shaft and snap into place. This will serve to apprise the operator that the neutral point has been reached and the application of further force to the handle 35 will continue the plunger 28 in its downward movement. Here again because of the shape of the cam 11 the platen will come to rest in its rearmost position prior to the plunger reaching its lowermost or work engaging position.

In view of the spaced relationship of the dies 29' on the plungers 28 and 2| it is desirable and essential that the forward and backward movements of the platen be adapted for careful adjustment to insure proper registry of the dies with a definite part on the platen upon reaching the platen. Since the forward movement of the platen is controlled by the cam 11 and cam lever 19, means are provided for limiting the retraction or backward movement of the platen. These means consist of an adjustable stop in the form of a screw threadedly mounted through a lug 9| on an arm at the rear of the frame and for holding the screw in adjusted position it is provided with a lock nut 92. Lateral adjustment of the dies may be accomplished by setting the die holders 29 and moving the adjusting screws 3|. The positioning of work to be acted upon by the As the operating shaft is rotated in the dies upon the platen is facilitated by providing the latter with a plurality of guide lines 94 extending forwardly and backwardly across the platen and additional guide lines 95 extending transversely of the platen as best shown in Fig. 3. For controlling the distance from the top of the sheet of stationery whereat the impression is to be made, there is provided a guide bar 96 which is adjustable forwardly and backwardly over the face of the platen by having a pair of screw elements 9! engaging in slots 98. Suitable clamping nuts 98' may be used to clamp the guide bar in adjusted position. If desired a guide bar may be provided for lateral adjustment on the platen for serving as a guide for the lateral edge of the stationery.

In practice the device is primarily intended for monograming or ornamenting stationery and to expedite the imprinting operations the guide bar 96 is provided with a pair of springs 99 adapted to receive thereunder in superposed relation a plurality of sheets of stationery, say up to about a dozen sheets, the spring having suificient tension to hold one or more such sheets in position while permitting the removal of a single sheet upon completion of the imprinting operation thereon by both dies without disturbing the re maining sheets.

The character of work adapted to be performed by the stamping device of the present invention is only limited by the skill of the designer and as shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 the variety of the types of ornamentation will be apparent. In Fig. 5 the monogram on the sheet of stationery I may be formed by first impressing a solid rectangular patch of color I 0| by one of the dies and one of the color transfer ribbons and thereafter impressing the letters I02 with the other of the dies and the other of the color transfer ribbons. Of course in impressing the solid color mass l0! and contrasting monogram I02, the color ribbons l0 and II will bear the desired transfer colors. In Fig. 6 the diamond I03 may be first impressed in one color and the letters I04 impressed in another color. In this particular monogram arrangement either the letters I04 or the diamond border I03 may be first impressed. In Fig. 7 the central letter I05 is in one color and the end letters I06 are in a contrasting color. Here again the central or the end letters may be the first to be impressed.

From the foregoing detailed description it will be apparent that we have provided a hot stamping device adapted for performing the various objects of the invention as set forth in the opening statement of the present specification, and although we have shown and described a preferred embodiment of our invention it is to be understood that changes therein may be made within the range of mechanical or engineering skill without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What We claim is:

1.A stamping device comprising two spaced dies, a platen for supporting articles to be impressed by the dies, means for alternately moving the dies into and out of impressing relation to the platen and means for reciprocating the platen for alternately presenting a part thereon into registering relation with the dies.

2. A stamping device comprising two spaced dies, a platen for supporting articles to be impressed by the dies, means for alternately moving the dies into and out of impressing relation to the platen and means responsive to the movement of the dies for reciprocating the platen in a plane transversely to the movementv of the dies for alternately presenting a part on the platen into registering relation with the dies. 1 :-3..A stamping device comprising an operating shaft, two spaced dies,'a transfer ribbon for each diea platen for-supporting articles to be impressed by the dies through said ribbons, means for alternately moving the dies into and out of impressing relation to the platen, means for feeding the ribbons'to present a new portion thereof to the dies upon each stroke thereof and means for moving the platen in a plane transversely to the movement of the dies for alternately presenting a part on the platen into registering relation with the dies, the dies, the transfer ribbons and the means for moving said elements being all controlled by the rotation of the operating shaft.

4. A stamping device comprising a frame, a pair of spaced plungers mounted for reciprocation in said frame, a die carried by each plunger, a platen movable transversely to the movement of the plungers, means engaging said plungers for alternately reciprocating them, means for causing movement of the platen for presenting a definite part thereon to each of the dies in succession, the last mentioned means serving to move the platen to the limit of its movement before the dies carried by the plungers are brought into engagement with the definite part on the platen.

5. A stamping device comprising a frame, a pair of spaced plunger-racks mounted for reciprocation in said frame, a die carried by each plunger, a platen movable transversely to the movement of the plungers, an operating shaft having a pinion in engagement with both plunger-racks for alternately reciprocating them and means controlled by rotation of the operating shaft for moving the platen to successively register a part thereon with each of the dies.

6. A stamping device according to claim 5. wherein means are mounted on the platen for retaining a plurality of sheets of paper thereon in superposed relation for receiving impressions from said dies and from which means the impressed sheets can be successively removed to present the next underlying sheet for receiving the impressions from the dies.

'7. A stamping device according to claim 5 wherein means are provided for frictionally holding the plunger-racks in a neutral or spaced relation to the platen.

8. A stamping device according to claim 5 wherein adjustable means are provided for limiting the transverse movement of the platen in at least one direction.

9. A stamping device according to claim 5 wherein a color transfer ribbon and ribbon feeding means are provided for each of the dies and means responsive to the movement of the dies for successively feeding the transfer ribbons to present new portions thereof for each successive impressing operation.

10. A stamping device comprising a frame, a pair of spaced plungers mounted for reciprocation in said frame, a die carried by each plunger, a platen movable transversely to the movement of the plungers, an operating shaft for alternately reciprocating the plungers, a cam mounted on said operating shaft and a pivoted lever the movements of which are controlled by said cam for moving the platen to successively register a part thereon with each of the dies.

11. A stamping device comprising a frame, a

pluxiger mounted for reciprocation in said frame,

able above the platen to space and strip the color ribbon from the die before and after a die-impressing operation respectively.

HERMAN GOULD. FRANK ACKERMAN. 

